Satellite Communications and
Spectrum Efficiency
Phillip L. Spector
Executive Vice President, Business Development,
& General Counsel
ITU Telecom World 2009
Geneva, Switzerland
7 October 2009
Intelsat: Global Leader in Satellite
Communications
• Leading provider of fixedsatellite services (“FSS”)
– Approximately 1,800 customers
– More than 200 countries
• Resilient and flexible
communications network
– 51 satellites
– 8 strategically-located teleports
– More than 28,000 miles of
leased fiber connectivity
Intelsat’s Operations Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
• Robust fleet investment
program
– 11 satellites currently in
development
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Satellite Applications Help Achieve Government Policy
Goals and Business Objectives …
Maritime
Communications
Wireless
Extension
Services
Mobile
Video
Telemedicine
Corporate
Networks
Distance
Education
Disaster
Preparedness
Internet
Connectivity
VoIP
IPTV
Intelsat’s applications increase teledensity rates, provide distance education and
telemedicine, provide broadband to rural areas, and more
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… because of the Unparalleled Benefits We
Provide to Our Customers
• Available everywhere: ideal for simultaneous distribution of
bandwidth-intensive information;
• Versatile: support all of today's communications needs;
• Reliable: constant and uniform quality of service to hundreds of
locations, regardless of geography;
• Fast: rapid, inexpensive network roll-out to hundreds or
thousands of locations;
• Flexible: can complement, augment or extend any
communications network, without terrestrial limitations;
• Expandable: Intelsat’s satellite / hybrid networks are easily
scalable as service needs grow.
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Satellites Technology Helps Increase
Teledensity Rates and Enables Rural
Broadband:
• Where there are inadequate terrestrial
facilities to connect base stations to
the Internet backbone;
• In rural and less densely populated
communities;
• To expand the network reach of
terrestrial wireless access systems
• Similar to how cellular operators use
satellites to connect to their base
station towers.
WiMAX Repeaters
Gateway to the
Internet
Internet
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Satellites Use Spectrum Efficiently
• Satellites provide national, regional and global coverage that is
unmatched by other technologies.
• One satellite (DTH) can serve millions of users with a single
transmission.
• Geostationary satellites reuse spectrum in 2 degree (or less)
increments.
• Satellites provide services where other technologies can’t or won’t:
Disaster recovery, rural and remote areas, inhospitable terrain.
• Network efficiency optimization (carrier on carrier, DVB-S2) -- new
modulation schemes are increasing the amount of data
satellites can carry.
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Frequency Reuse – 2 Degree (or less) Spacing
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Spectrum Efficiency Brings Higher
Susceptibility to Interference
• Reduced orbital separation and
greater satellite deployments increase
adjacent satellite interference.
• New modulation techniques that
increase throughput are more
sensitive to interference.
• Deployment of smaller satellite dishes
that enable greater use of satellites
provide less interference protection.
• Sharing with fixed terrestrial services
further adds to the interference
environment.
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Concerns About Spectrum Use and
Management
• Terrestrial Wireless Access Systems (BWA, FWA,
WiMAX, etc) are moving into the C-band,
traditionally used by fixed satellite services.
• Cases of harmful interference are increasing.
• Extent of satellite usage is understated, because
virtually all receive-only earth stations are
unregistered.
• As terrestrial services are moving from fixed to
mobile systems, protection of earth stations is
getting more difficult.
• Sharing between terrestrial wireless access
systems and satellite receiver stations imposes
undue constraints on all operators and is NOT
realistic.
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Spectrum Management Principles Are a Tool
to Support Policy Goals
• Satellite services’ quality and reliability only can be
maintained without harmful interference.
• Examine services for “compatibility” before
allocating them to the same spectrum.
• Keep in mind the special nature and advantages of
satellite services when making spectrum allocations.
– Establishment of national and international protection criteria;
– Protection of receive-only earth stations;
– Interference mitigation not just from in-band, but also out-of-band
services.
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The Role of Satellite in Reaching the Next Billion
Cellular Backhaul
Internet Trunking
eLearning
Telemedicine
Mobile Video Networks
Disaster Recovery
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